Billfold



Dec. 17, 1957 w. c. BooTs 2,816,590

BILLFOLD Filed May` l0, 1955 nited States Patent i BILLFOLD William C.Boots, Rumford, R. I., assignor to Foster Metal Products Incorporated,Attleboro, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application May 10,1955, Serial No. 507,327

3 Claims. (Cl. 150--38) This invention comprises a bill fold improved inits construction from the standpoint of security, convenience andappearance.

It is characterized by folded cover leaves enclosing in their foldvertex a straight bar which maintains the bill fold as a Whole in flatcondition and provides adequate foundation for mounting the clamp andspring elements of the device.

A novel feature of the invention resides in the clamp which ispreferably curved and shaped at its free end to engage the folded billsopposite an intermediate portion of the bar with spring pressure. Theclamp is moreover provided with an outwardly projecting operating arm bywhich it may be retracted when desired and with a hidden toe or ear foroperative spring connection.

As herein shown, the bar element may be of channel shape thus affordingsecure bearings for the pivot of the clamp as well as a housing for itsoperating spring. The web of the channel is notched at one end to permitthe curved clamp to pass through it and extend in `clamping relationwith a substantial fiat area provided by the web or back of the channelbar.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood andappreciated from the following description of a preferred embodimentthereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in theaccompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective showing the bill fold in open condition,

Fig. 2 is a view in enlarged scale in longitudinal section on the line 22 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a view in perspective of the spring member,

Figs. 4 and 5 are views in perspective of the channel bar as seenrespectively from different angles, and

Fig. 6 is a View in cross-section on the line 6--6 of Fig. 2.

The bill fold as herein shown comprises cover leaves 10 and 11 ofleather, fabric or other sheet material of ornamental appearance, andthese leaves may be folded from a single sheet or otherwise assembled toform a fold vertex. A channel bar 12, such as that shown in Figs. 4 and5, is placed in the fold vertex of the cover leaves. The bar is formedof metal and may be plated or otherwise attractively finished. It hasparallel side iianges and a solid at back or web and this is cut back ornotched at the upper end of the bar to provide a passage 13 for aportion of the clamp member as will presently be described. From theside flanges of the bar pro ject a pair of spurs or prongs 14. Inassembling the parts ,2,316,599 Patented Dec. 17, 1957 ICC of the billfold these spurs are forced through the material of the cover leaves andclenched substantially in the vertex of the fold so that the solid webof the bar 12 is exposed inside the bill fold.

The clamp member 15 is roughly T-shaped, having a curved inner arm whichextends through the passage 13 of the channel bar and is connectedthereto by a pivot 16 which extends through both anges of the bar. Theclamp member has an outwardly extending operating arm 17 by which it maybe temporarily lifted to disengage bills engaged between the long curvedstem of the clamp member and the solid ilat web of the bar 12. The clampmember is also provided with a short arm or toe 18 extending below thepivot 16 and lying fully within the channel of the bar 12.

A bar-shaped spring 19 is mounted Within the channel of the bar 12 andarranged to engage the toe 18 of the clamp member tending to rock themember always in a clockwise direction against the solid flat areaprovided by the web of the bar 12. The spring 19 is secured in place bya rivet 2t) which extends between the flanges of the bar 12 holding theback of the spring against the web of the bar. The upper end of thespring 19 is reduced to aord clearance between it and the web of the bar12.

The bill fold is finished by a tubular sleeve 21 which, as best shown inFig. 6, is slipped over the fold vertex of the cover leaves and the openside of the channel bar 12. The sleeve is of such dimensions as toembrace the clenched spurs 14 and to indent slightly the cover leavesbeyond the clenched ends of these spurs.

Having thus disclosed my invention and described in detail a preferredembodiment thereof, I claim as new and desire to secure by LettersPatent:

1. A bill fold comprising folded cover leaves, a straight channel barlocated in the fold vertex of the cover leaves and having a solid flatweb exposed inside the bill fold, a clamp pivoted between the sides ofthe channel bar and extending over one end of the bar and into contactwith the at web of the bar, the clamp having a toe enclosed in thechannel of the bar, and a at spring also enclosed in the channel of saidbar, secured in place therein and yieldingly engaging the toe of theclamp at a point at one side of its pivotal axis.

2. A bill fold comprising folded cover leaves, a channel bar fastened inthe fold vertex of the leaves with its open side facing the vertex andpresenting a solid web inside the bill fold and being notched at oneend, a curved clamp pivoted between the sides of the channel bar andpassing in an arc through the notch of the web, and a flat springsecured in place between the sides of the channel bar and operativelyengaging the clamp at a point biasing it toward the web of the channelbar.

3. A bill fold as described in claim 2 further characterized in that thespring is of the straight bar type and is disposed longitudinally withinthe channel bar with one end operatively engaged with the clamp at apoint biasing it toward the bar.

References Cited in the ile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

